Last week, the Iran-backed, Gaza Strip-based terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) marked the 25th anniversary of the assassination of its erstwhile leader. This week marks a year since the IDF eliminated one of its top officials, Baha Abu al-Ata. Meanwhile, thanks to the coronavirus, the economic situation in Gaza is extremely dire and Hamas, which governs the territory, seems to have no interest in provoking a confrontation with Israel. Yoav Limor takes stock:
[PIJ’s] leaders in Damascus are prodding their people in Gaza to fall in line with Hamas, and prioritize calm over escalation with Israel. This moderate line isn’t accepted by all the group’s members, chief among them Ata loyalists. . . . In Israel, of course, officials prefer the peace and quiet, but there are those would view a PIJ attack as a window of opportunity: if the recalcitrant operatives on the ground do something, it will be possible to act against the group, even if it means several days of hostilities.
It’s also safe to assume that Hamas would want Israel to neutralize, on its behalf, those seeking to undermine stability in Gaza; by not responding to Ata’s assassination last year, Hamas showed it doesn’t particularly grieve over the removal of its adversaries from the chessboard, and certainly isn’t willing to risk its own critical interests for them.
For now, Hamas . . . prefers calm and non-escalation. But we mustn’t extrapolate from this that Hamas has become a peaceful organization. The recently detected attack tunnel in Gaza indicates that Hamas is continuing to prepare for war and is examining ways to bypass the underground barrier Israel has built around Gaza.
Read more on Israel Hayom: https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/11/06/hamas-wants-calm-in-gaza-but-situation-on-the-ground-is-volatile/